Shaped by Dog with Susan Garrett

Visit us at shapedbydog.com   I'm often asked how to start a dog training plan, and no matter what the behaviour, my answer is always the same. We need to begin with the end in mind. Knowing how we want a behaviour to finish will create confidence and clarity for our dogs. We're looking at how back-chaining can bring you and your dog joy together in training.   In the episode you'll hear:   • How...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    In education, what the teacher is teaching, and what the learner is learning might not be the same thing. It's the same when we are training our dogs. If what our dog does is not what we have trained, we need to look at our training to see where that might be flawed. Often it comes down to the reinforcement process, and today we're going to fix that.   In the episode...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     There's a good chance that most of us have been hurt by words at some stage in our life. And it's not just the meaning; it's the energy surrounding the words we choose to use. I recently did two weeks of live streams focusing on one word each day because words have power. We're venturing into the woo of dog training!   In the episode you'll hear:   • What kind of fe...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Have you ever wondered what the best gift is for a dog owner or someone about to become a dog or puppy owner? We can probably all agree that the surprise gift of an actual puppy or dog is the worst idea because life is not like TV or the movies! I might have a little bit of an obsession with dog beds, toys and leashes, but I don't believe they are the best gift for...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     What three words would you and your dog pick to describe your dog training? I'd like to think my dogs pick the words fun, kind and clear. The late Wayne Dyer influenced my dog training mantra, and I believe that our dogs are doing the absolute best they can with the education we've given them in the environment that we are asking them to perform in. If you embrace t...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    How do I get my dog to stop jumping up on people? Wanting to know how to train a dog to greet people calmly is a question we see often. There are three simple steps to get your dog to never jump on anyone again. It starts with knowing why dogs jump up in the first place.   In the episode you'll hear:   • The reason dogs jump on people. • Why jumping up is rewarding f...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     The rhythm you have with the dog in your life reflects the connectedness you have with your dog. Connectedness can be defined in the moments when things don't go the way you expect. Rhythm can range from peaceful and easy through to chaotic and is part of all our relationships. We're looking at how we can use everyday life to build a relationship of connection and t...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    Have you ever wondered how to end a dog training session so that your dog knows it's over? We're looking at the rhythm of training and how a session's beginning, middle, and end can bring your dog success. Having a clear finish to training time will help you avoid giving your dog a time out and help your dog understand what's "dog time" and what is not.   In the epis...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    In the big picture of dog training, how important is it to be consistent? Does everyone who spends time with our dog need to follow the same rules and maintain the same criteria? If they don't, will that hurt our reinforcement based dog training? Does maintaining criteria mean we are control freaks? These questions are ones we see frequently, and in this episode, we'...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      For dog agility, we have a start line, and that is where our dog stays until we release them. The start line is a given for my dogs, and I know they will stay, but getting dogs to wait in any position can be very challenging for many. We're covering what I do that allows me to take it for granted my dogs will stay no matter what. Plus, we're taking a quick detour t...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     I get a lot of questions about my dogs, and we're covering some of your most popular. Have you ever wondered why our rescue Bulldog mix, Tater-Salad, is the "fall guy"? Or which one of my dogs is the smartest (the answer is NOT who you might think it is)? Do you wonder how to select a dog training class or what to do when you have a male dog and your female dog is i...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    Dog training is like a conversation between two friends. Have you ever travelled somewhere where you don't speak the language? It can get problematic. And sometimes, our dogs have a similar experience with us. Is your communication with your dog clear enough for a two-way conversation?   In the episode you'll hear:   • Why our dogs might have difficulty with our comm...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    I got my reputation as a professional dog trainer primarily through excelling in the sport of dog agility. I've been teaching and competing in agility for over 30 years and have achieved over 30 National and World Championships. There are three big mistakes that I see people make when training for dog agility and these are the same three things that make it difficult...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Sit, down and come are three cues many people use to prompt their dogs to do something. But what happens when your dog can't hear those words? They might be a distance away or have hearing loss. Enter the physical cue! People can really mess up their hand signals when training their dog, but physical cues can be easy to teach once you know the process.   In the epis...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Has your dog ever done something suddenly and without warning? A growl, snap, bite, or behaving in a way that is of character? Sudden behavior change could be the result of trigger stacking. Stacking triggers is your dog accumulating stress. All the small stressors become a big thing, and that last trigger in the stack is the equivalent of the straw that broke the c...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Have you heard of the term "anchor dog"? It's a term I coined for a dog who helps other dogs become more confident. In ancient times, the symbol of an anchor represented safety. Dogs pick up the emotions of people and also of other dogs. If you have a dog who is not confident, an anchor dog can assist you by reducing overwhelm in overcoming challenges.   In the epis...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    High drive dogs are the most misunderstood group of dogs on the planet. High drive dogs are often intentionally bred for work like protection or herding, and they are motivated and focused. In many instances, high drive dogs are created, and the label of "over-aroused" is applied to a dog who is over-faced and misunderstood.   In the episode you'll hear:   • How I ha...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     Does your dog greet you, or anyone at your door, over enthusiastically? Does it seem like your dog might have excessive greeting disorder? You might love your dog's exuberance but wish it would only show when appropriate. Help is at hand for you, your visitors, and your dog to create calm greetings.   In the episode you'll hear:   • About your daily routine, when it...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      Everything I train dogs to do, I do in the form of a game. We have a mantra around here that "work = play and play = work." You can minimize the time you need for dog training by keeping this mantra in mind and noticing what your dog loves!   In the episode you'll hear:   • About Tater's love of watermelon and being in the sun. • What my Terrier Twister would do on...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      Trying to cut a dog's nails can be one of the most difficult jobs for many dog owners. When I asked who was interested in the topic of consent in dog training for nail trimming on my last podcast episode, there were many comments from people wanting help. So, we're going through the steps to help everyone clip their dog's toenails so that all dogs can enjoy a pedic...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      The idea of getting consent to train your dog is growing in popularity for a good reason. It is something I have been doing for many years. But consent is also misused, misunderstood, and misapplied, which can cause massive setbacks for dogs and their owners. So, what is consent really, and how does it benefit our dogs?   In the episode you'll hear:   • Where conse...

Answering your dog sport questions! Even if you don't do dog sports, many of the questions relate to dog training in general. My voice is a bit raspy as we're just wrapped up a first ever global four day agility camp entirely through Zoom. In the episode you'll hear answers covering: • Connecting with your dog better when running an entire agility course. • Giving motivation a boost when competing...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com    Has your dog ever done something unexpected that is the opposite of what you want? And you just want your dog to stop, but you don't know what to do while remaining a reinforcement based dog trainer? We're looking at naughty dog behaviours and how to take appropriate action when things don't go to plan.   In the episode you'll hear:   • The three responses of tolerat...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com     When you feel emotional, are you at your best? Do you make good decisions? It's the same for our dogs. We're talking about the emotions dogs experience and what happens when a dog gets too emotional to respond.   In the episode you'll hear:   • A story from my past that is still vivid about the fear that had me running. • What happens to our physiological system whe...

Visit us at shapedbydog.com      How do you move from punishment based or balanced dog training to being a choice based trainer who uses positive reinforcement? That's a question one of our YouTube viewers asked. If you have the same question, you are not alone. Three keys to help make lasting change in how you train your dog are knowing your why, having a plan, and giving yourself grace.   In the...